Versus Identity
by nashie-chan
Summary: AU. Growing up, Sora wanted nothing more than to join the Rising, save the world...to BE somebody. But what happens when all you wish for comes true...and it's not like anything you saw in your dreams? Formerly "Superheroes" .
1. prologue

**_Superheroes_**

_By Samurai-Nashie_

Disclaimer: For the lawyers who read fan fiction, if you recognize it, I don't own it.

oOo

begin prologue

oOo

_Sora was dead._

_He lay on the ground, impaled by his own keyblade, sightless blue eyes gazing at something past the smoke-choked and fiery-red sky. In his right, blood-stained hand he grasped with what had been his remaining strength a cracked and faded star-shaped item, a keepsake of memories forgotten…_

_Around his corpse, the war still raged…and it sounded as if it would never end. Battle cries intermingled with choking coughs, harsh, victorious laughter, and sobs of defeat. The city had been decimated in the inferno, harsh, skeletal remains of what had once been proud buildings becoming the graveyards of hundreds of people…_

_Hell had come to earth._

_Standing by the body stood a cloaked figure, eyes the color of the chilliest glacier with the same depth of emotion fixed on the keyblade that had pierced the boy's heart._

_A flash of light was_ _her_ _only signal of arrival, and she appeared by his side, her cherub-like face stained with soot and blood nearly the same deep red as her hair. For the longest of_ _seconds, the two said nothing, until the girl, because she couldn't have been out of her teenage years, knelt beside the young man's body. Her face revealed nothing as she scanned his face, her eyes following the bruises at his neck, the keyblade embedded forever into his chest, and then towards the item he held in his hand._

_"He kept it," she said simply, reaching out to take the item, but her hand stopped a few inches away, hesitating._

_"Of course he did. He loved you."_

_The girl scowled, her face twisting into a cruel sneer. "He shouldn't have." She spun to face him, fixing him with a glare so intense, her eyes glowed with an inner hellfire. "And what about you? He cared about you too."_

_The silver-haired young man said nothing for a few moments, and then, "It means nothing now."_

_The girl choked out a bitter laugh, turning to look at the face of the boy. "You're right." She reached out again, prying the small item out of the young man's lifeless grip. She stood then and held the star-shaped charm up slightly so that it caught the light of the burning fires around them, and laughed again. But this time the laugh was bittersweet._

_And then she threw the charm into the chaos around them._

_They stood solitary after that, quiet, reflecting in their thoughts. Then the girl turned to her companion, a smile on her face that did not meet her eyes, eyes that were now far too old for her face._

_"Another memory buried."_

_"Another_ friend_ buried," the young man retorted, but his voice eerily lacked the anger and the grief that should have come with the statement. It was the voice of a warrior who had seen far too many deaths, had been hurt far too many times to even care about the loss of one single important person anymore...and yet, he couldn't have been any older than the girl..._

_The conversation would have continued, but they were interrupted by approaching footsteps. The two youngsters turned to see a young man approaching them, tousled golden hair and impossibly blue eyes making him look completely innocent, an angel amidst the fiery carnage surrounding them. His unmarked, unsullied appearance would have made it seem more likely…but the two in front of him knew better…_

_"He's dead."_

_It was stated quietly, but firmly. The girl nodded, tearing her eyes away from the blonde, the familiarity in his face too striking. If he noticed, he said nothing. Rather, he walked within five feet of them, staring down at a pair of unseeing eyes that were far too similar to his own._

_"He was the last obstacle," the blond said, in the same quiet, boyish voice. "Find any remaining members of the Organization, and deal with them." He looked up into the faces of the two in front of him, and his eyes glittered with something that may have been maliciousness, may have been sympathy. No one could ever tell with him._

_"Understood," the young man said, while the girl simply nodded her head._

_Obviously satisfied with this answer, the blond continued to move past them, only halting for a moment to quietly say, "Make sure no one finds the body. I don't want a martyr." And with that, he was gone._

_The girl bit back a harsh laugh. "A martyr? This war is full of them."_

_The young man turned to glare at her. "We didn't have a choice. This was the only path we could have taken."_

_"And look where it led us, Riku. We've taken the path straight to hell." With a wave of her hand, the body disappeared, invisible to all except her. "Let Axel take care of it. I've seen enough death for one day."_

_The silver-haired youth said nothing, only glanced around them, where, despite the moment of repose, the war still raged angrily around them. "Kairi…where did we go wrong?"_

_The girl laughed bitterly, the sound tinged with a hint of hysteria, and this time, her eyes shined brightly with unshed tears._

_"What makes you think this is wrong?"_

oOo

Naminé opened her eyes, and let out a tiny gasp.

The woman was at her side immediately. "What did you see?"

The small blonde girl turned to look into the eyes of her elder, a pale looking woman with hair the color of ebony, and piercing hazel eyes. Her hands shook slightly, and she looked down at the book in her hands almost immediately.

"The end of the world."

oOo

to be continued

oOo

**Author's Note**: (12 July 2007): Here is yet another KH fan fiction, that is highly influenced by all those Marvel comic books that have begun to take up residence in my room (I really couldn't think of a more interesting name...). I'm very prolific this week, but I guess I shouldn't complain. With this prologue out the way (a very dark prologue that pretty much wrote itself), I can say that now I have five KH projects in the works, and can get back to updating a certain fashioned-based fic of mine that has been ignored for so long. 

Things shall be explained soon (no, the rest of the chapters will not be this dark - I'd depressed myself everytime I wrote a chapter, and that's no impetus to continue). Comments and (polite) critique are very much appreciated. They make the author's world go 'round.

- Nashie


	2. an interval of innocence

_**Versus Identity**_

_By Samurai-Nashie_

Disclaimer: For the lawyers who read fan fiction, if you recognize it, I don't own it.

oOo

_Eleven months earlier_

oOo

"Wake _up_, Sora!"

Contrary to popular belief, Rinoa Heartilly was not a patient girl. She had a running streak of impatience in her, and a bubbly personality that refused to let her stay in one place long enough to be late to another. Being late meant being irresponsible, and though Rinoa believed herself to be very carefree, she certainly was _not_ irresponsible.

The same could not be said for her brother.

The lump in the bed (that may or may not have been human) shifted at her irritated call, mumbling something incomprehensible about waffles and stuffed Chocobos covered in syrup. Not in the mood to try to decipher what her younger sibling was dreaming about, Rinoa stomped over to his bed, ripped the covers down to reveal an incomprehensible mess of brown hair, and glared. "Sora! We're going to be late!"

There was a half-awakened protest and a wave in Rinoa's general direction.

The dark-haired girl was about to pull out the big guns when an amused voice called from the door, "Let me try."

And with that, Riku Trellis threw a water balloon at his surrogate brother.

So it was fifteen minutes later, with a damp but awakened Sora glaring daggers at Riku and a much more content Rinoa leading the way, did the trio enter into the kitchen. The woman standing in the kitchen, dressed smartly in a dark blue uniform and white apron, raised an eyebrow, and then wagged a finger at the three of them as they began to raid the kitchen in search of breakfast.

"Now, if I recall, you all had said that you would be up by seven in order to make it to school on time," the woman chided gently. "And in that conversation, I think I remember saying that if such a miracle were _ever_ to occur, I would make a grand breakfast of omelets, croissants, and a fruit salad." Sora began to whine, but the woman cut him off with a wave of her spatula. "It is now seven forty-two, and you all have exactly twenty-eight minutes to get something to eat and be on time for your first day back."

Rinoa sighed as she opened the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of milk. "I blame Sora. It seems it's not possible for him to wake anytime before one in the afternoon. Riku, can you grab some cereal while you're over there?"

Sora protested immediately. "Hey, Riku was the one who wanted to stay up late and watch that sci-fi thriller marathon they were having on TV last night." He began to reach for the cookie jar but a stern look from the woman (and a sharp wave of the spatula she wielded like a sword) cut him off.

"We've gone over this before Sora," Elmyra said. "No cookies for breakfast."

"It's good brain food?"

Riku tossed his friend an apple. "That's better. Now hurry up and eat or we're really going to be late."

Between mouthfuls of cereal, Rinoa glanced over at their housekeeper, who had taken up post in front of the cookie jar. "Mom left already?"

"Early business meeting. She said she loves you all, but this year, she doesn't really want to have to pick any of you up from detention on the first day."

"That was only one year!" Sora exclaimed, nearly spewing chewed apple onto his sister and his friend.

"Does Kairi still have blackmail pictures from that?" Rinoa asked thoughtfully. Riku snorted.

"Probably."

Elmyra smiled. "Just _try_ to be on your best behavior today. Besides, you three look so angelic in your uniforms, I don't want to have to tell your mother that you replaced them with those ridiculous trendy styles to encourage…" She trailed off. "What was it that you had said? "Unique individuality amongst the communal repetitive functions of society?""

The three students shared grins. Though their uniforms were not awful (white shirts, blue ties, and black dress pants - or pleated skirts for the girls), in their sophomore year, they had led a mini-revolt against the uniforms, and nearly got suspended for it.

Okay, so dressing up the statue in front of their school may not have been the _best_ way to make a point.

Their housekeeper let out a long-suffering sigh before beginning to shoo the trio towards the door. "Go on. If you don't leave now, you're going to be late. And wouldn't that be a shame?"

A few minutes of protests, whining, and a flurry of good-byes later, the three students had been shoved out of the penthouse, leaving only Elmyra in the kitchen.

Only then did she notice the top of the cookie jar had been removed, and a noticeable amount of cookies was missing. Tapping her foot on the ground, the brown-haired woman sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose wearily.

"How does he _do_ that?"

oOo

"Six cookies may have been overdoing it, Sora," Riku said, rolling his eyes from the backseat as Rinoa's car zoomed down the streets of the affluent neighborhood towards their high school. The dark-haired girl was blasting some music from the radio, having proclaimed that she absolutely adored this band, while Riku and Sora shared grimaces. "Whatever happened to brain food?"

Sora chomped down on a chocolate chip cookie, turning to face his friend, and winking. "Well, I had an apple. And now I'm getting my daily dose of sugar. It all balances out."

"On what kind of scale?" Rinoa asked, speeding up to drive through a yellow light. "Elmyra is going to buy a padlock for that cookie jar if you keep raiding it like that."

Sora only snorted, and defiantly kept chewing his cookie.

Ten minutes later, the dark blue convertible finally pulled up into the student parking lot of the academy. Dozens upon dozens of other uniformed students stood in the lot, in their usual clusters and cliques. Some of the friends, who recognized the oft-ticketed convertible (Rinoa was up to three so far - two for speeding, and one for parking), gave them eager waves while other students went wide-eyed as the small yet expensive car passed them.

The Rhinehurst Academy of the Gifted and Talented, nicknamed the Gardens due to the abundant amount of carefully-tended flora and fauna that surrounded the school, was actually a former manor that had been refurbished, with additional wings added on some seven years previous when the student population suddenly exploded with almost one-hundred new freshman.

The Gardens mainly catered to the sons and daughters of prominent government officials and businessmen who could afford the hefty tuition. A few dozen of the students were there on scholarships, but often remained hush about the circumstances, lest they become social outcasts amongst their wealthier peers. It was an unstated agreement that if one never asked, one never told. It had worked every since the headmaster had initiated the scholarships, and no one dared to reject the hidden status quo.

Rinoa parked her car near her usual tree at the far eastern portion of the lot, where a group of familiar upperclassmen had already gathered. "Looks like it's back to the norm."

"At least you guys are seniors," Sora grumbled as he climbed out of the car, pulling his backpack with him. "Two more years of exams and gym for me."

"Would it help if I said it'll be over before you know it?" Riku asked with a playful grin, giving his friend a small shove. Sora rolled his eyes, and muttered something along the lines of a negative, and they headed off towards the cluster of upperclassmen hanging out around the tree. Some of those sitting around the tree were tossing a blitzball back and forth among themselves, while a few of the girls paged through two or three fashion magazines.

At their approach, one of the girls looked up, a dazzling smile appearing on her face. She leapt to her feet and ran towards Riku and Sora, dark red hair flying out behind her like a flag in the wind. "Sora! Riku!"

"Kairi!?" Sora exclaimed as the young woman threw her arms over the boys' shoulders. "When did you get back into town?"

"Last night!" the girl exclaimed excitedly, still hugging both boys tightly. "I'm so sorry I didn't call! But it was really late, and Dad kept saying I had to get to sleep because school starts today!" She pulled back slightly, looking up at her two best friends. "This summer just wasn't the same without you guys."

"Tell me about it," Sora said, jerking a thumb at Riku. "I had to spend my entire summer alone with Mr. Can't-Go-Five-Miles-Above-the-Speed-Limit."

Kairi giggled.

Riku snorted, and smacked the shorter young man in the back of the head. "You know, someone who doesn't have a driver's license shouldn't complain."

"Kairi, it was terrible! Old people in walkers - _walkers_! - were passing us up!"

"It was rush hour, Sora. No one was going faster than that lady…"

"It was two in the afternoon. That is _not_ rush hour!"

Kairi laughed again, and hugged them again. "Oh, you guys! I am never leaving on summer vacation without either of you anymore!"

Someone coughed behind them, and the three turned around to find a small girl standing behind them with her hands on her hips, and shaking her head in disapproval.

"So the rest of us are chopped liver, then?" Selphie asked, with a wicked glean in her green eyes. She sighed melodramatically. "You guys are so unfair, leaving us out. Didn't you miss us too?" Sora smiled, and swept into a clumsy looking bow. Selphie blushed and giggled, swatting her hand at Sora. "Now you're being stupid."

Sora only grinned at her, and Kairi, rolling her eyes, linked her arm through his and Riku's and began leading them away from their clique, calling over her shoulder, "But we love them anyway!" As Riku protested at being included with Sora in that statement and Sora protested the idea that Riku was annoyed, Kairi only laughed again, proclaiming, "I can't believe I missed summer with you guys!" Then, she glanced around surreptitiously at the academy grounds and lowered her voice, "So…anything really exciting happen while I was gone?"

Sora opened his mouth to say something, but Riku quickly nudged him in the ribs, looking around the yard suspiciously. "Sora…"

The brown-haired young man only gave his friend a small smile and a wink. "Riku, you are _way_ too easily to rile up. If you don't want me to tell her, then you can."

Kairi's eyes widened and she turned expectantly towards the silver-haired young man. Riku looked nonplussed about the sudden attention and smirked. "I think she can wait a couple more hours."

"Riku!" Kairi planted her feet onto the ground, effectively bringing the two boys to a halt next to her. Despite her size, Kairi was a lot stronger than she looked sometimes, and it still took the boys by the surprise whenever she actually managed to show them exactly how strong she really was. "Tell me! What happened? Did you…grow a tail?"

Sora burst into laughter as Riku gave Kairi a completely taken-aback look. "What?"

"Okay. No tail. Did you…get pregnant?"

Riku's eyebrows shot up into his bangs, while Sora doubled over in laughter, his arm still linked through Kairi's, but he was laughing too hard to care about the strange angle his arm was currently at.

Kairi cocked her head to the side, and then grinned wickedly. "Oh, my! Riku! It's not that time of the month is it?"

Riku groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "Kairi…I swear…"

"Well, if you would just tell me…" Kairi lowered her voice and then continued in a sing-song voice. "It's not everyday that you're best friends with an extraterrestrial. Besides, I was gone all summer long, and you expect me to believe that _nothing_ happened. Not even something like accidentally lighting Elmyra's cookies on fire? Or…levitating off your bed while you were sleeping? Or…?"

Riku held up his hand to stop her short as they reached the entrance to the school, the thick wooden doors currently being held open by a cluster of sophomores in the midst of pulling a half-hearted prank on a freshman. Kairi and Sora shot the sophomores disapproving looks while Riku gently pulled on the poor girl's arm, leading her just shy of getting a gecko dropped onto her blonde curls.

The sophomores all groaned at the intervention, but no one dared to object exclusively the two juniors and the senior that passed by. The three of them had a not quite infamous, but rather extensive reputation that proceeded them. Not that they were mean or bullies or anything of that sort, but the student body knew that to mess with one of them meant to mess with all three of them, and only bad could come of that. It was why, although most people knew Riku was there on scholarship, no one dared taunt him over the fact because not only would Riku fix you with that terribly cold gaze of his, but Sora would immediately dislike you and Kairi would snub you - and it was not at all in good social graces to be snubbed by the mayor's daughter.

The three of them continued down the hall, which was filled with the sounds of amiable chatter and laughter, and clacking of heels against the newly-polished mahogany floors. Kairi wrinkled her nose a bit as the fresh smell of wax and window cleaner assaulted her senses. "I hate this smell. It always smells like this on the first day back."

Sora slipped his arm out of Kairi's and did a little spin in the middle of the hallway, his tie spinning with him. "I like it. It makes for a good dance floor."

Riku and Kairi shared exasperated looks, until Kairi's features lightened up slightly and she smiled brightly up at her friend. "Hey, Riku…you never did tell me…"

"Maybe later, Kairi. After school?"

"Oooh, we can hang out by the docks again like we did last year!"

"If we don't get loaded with homework on the first day," Sora noted, placing his hands on the back of his neck. "But man, whenever you get excited like that Kairi, it makes me want to have powers. I would _so_ join a superhero group if I did. Like the Rising!"

"You're such a fanboy," Kairi smirked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure they have enough problems on their hands without having to make sure you weren't stuck in the laundry machine…or something."

"That only happened one time!"

"You conveniently forgot that it happened again last month!"

"Really!?"

"Traitor!"

"Mr. Heartilly, Ms. Fabool, Mr. Trellis - your antics are a little early this year, don't you think?"

The trio halted in their path, and then guilty turned to wear a sharply dressed man with white hair and golden eyes was frowning curiously at them. The man, the headmaster of the Gardens, was notoriously intimidating, even though nothing about his gentle but firm manner ever scared the students off. It was maybe just his imposing physical presence (and perhaps the fact that no one knew if Ansem was his first or last name). Still…it was always thought better to remain on his good side.

Sora glanced at his two best friends, and managed a slightly nervous grin. "We weren't trying to, sir. We're just glad to be back together. You know…summer and all…"

"Ah, yes. I do recall that Mayor Fabool and his family were out of the country for most of the summer," their headmaster stated. He turned his gaze towards Kairi. "And how was that for you, Ms. Fabool?"

"It was nice, but I'm glad to be back," Kairi replied honestly.

"We are very grateful to have you back," Ansem continued before sweeping his eyes across them once more. "Well, then. Carry on - but please keep any disciplinary behavior to a minimum today. I would hate to send any one of you home due to unreasonable actions on your part. Mr. Heartilly, please inform your sister that this includes her as well."

"Yes, sir," the three of them said before turning and hurrying towards their classes.

The headmaster watched as the three disappeared around a corner and frowned in thought. Peering down at his watch, he turned his back and silently headed towards his office, unaware of the students that parted before him as if he were a saint.

oOo

The room lay in comfortable shadows, if there was such a thing. The computers at the far end of the room, facing away from the door, cast an eerie bluish-white glow onto the dark gray walls, and they provided the only light in the room. It was a pleasantly small room, big enough just to hold the row of computers and a long oval table that sat between them and door. The table itself was nothing grand, perhaps something one might see in a neighborhood office.

It was who sat at the table that really would have drawn one's attention.

It was a motley group of seven people, ranging in ages and appearances…at least, the silhouetted appearances that could be made out in the dark blue and black shadows of the room. Some appeared to be waiting for more people to arrive, while a few were engrossed in hushed conversation. One had his head buried in a brick of a book.

"I can't believe he's late," someone noted, in a voice that seemed perfect for constant annoyance and holier-than-thou condescension. "We told him to meet us here."

"Well, you cannot always except a novice to be punctual," another noted dryly, his voice tinted with the faint hint of a foreign accent.

"It would be a start," said yet another deep and rumbling voice belonging to one of the larger shadows, his eyes not even peering over the edge of his book.

"_I_ was on time," someone replied, in a jaunty tone that was both exasperated and amused. Someone snickered at the other end of the table. "I don't see why we can't start even if one person's missing."

"_Three_ people are missing," Annoyed Voice murmured. "And if you've forgotten, there is reason why one of them can't be here…"

"Details, details…"

The conversation died away as the door to the room opened - of course, the hallway was dimly lit, and provided little to no illumination in the room itself. Seven pairs of eyes turned towards the door where two men entered. The man with the annoyed voice mumbled something of "about time", watching as the still-unfamiliar one of the two entered behind the other man, who seemed, even in the darkness, to radiate with authority.

"I'm sure that there was no rush to begin this meeting, considering our current location," the authoritative man said in a deep, clear voice. The other man cocked his head to the side, his hand brushing the back of the chair, and the others could see the faint gleam of a smile on his face.

"There's someone else new here," he said, in a voice that had a particular rasp at its edges - there was a cool nonchalance in his voice that was both debonair and worrisome.

"That would be me," Jaunty Voice said with a small wave of his hand. "Nice to meet you…I guess. How long has it been…two months now?"

"Two-and-a-half," the latecomer murmured, sliding easily into the chair across from him. "And it's good to see the rest of you again too…insofar as sight is actually used in the godforsaken room."

Someone coughed back a laugh, and Jaunty Voice chuckled, but was quickly silenced by the clearing throat of the one clearly in charge. "For someone who has spent little time with us in the last few months, I would take such an insult personally if it didn't reflect your narrow-mindedness." The latecomer held up his hands in apology and then gestured for the other man to continue. The man, who now took a seat at the head of the table, kept his eyes on the latecomer's shadowed form for only a few moments longer before looking away.

"As I was saying, it seems in our best interests to stay incognito for awhile longer," the man said, the rich tones of his voice reverberating throughout the small room. "It creates a lull, a sense of false security amongst the members of the Rising."

"How was the distraction a few days ago?"

"Efficiently taken care of - they'll be on the trail of a culprit for a few days," one of the other members who had been quiet until this moment - his voice too carried a sense of authority, though he was far quieter than the other man.

Someone laughed. "The Rising is a group of fools, never using their powers for any sort of real gain. They're always stuck on their ideas of humility and noblesse oblige…totally a waste of time on their part."

"They do outrank us, though. And outnumber us," the man with the book noticed as he quietly turned a page. "It proves to be a hindrance."

"That is true," Annoyed Voice admitted, tapping a finger against the face of the table in thought. "In terms of ranking, there is nothing we can do in regards to that now. In regards to membership, however, that can be easily taken care of…"

"Recruitment or assassination?" the latecomer asked, and the others could detect the slight edge in his voice as he asked this. What the reason for this was very unclear, but most of the others shrugged it off, except for the young man who possessed the spirited voice - he frowned curiously at the other newcomer.

"The latter is too conspicuous, and the former…well, I need only remind those gathered that we have successfully only recruited two since the induction of this organization."

The latecomer crossed his arms. "Looking for proper villains, hmm?"

"There is no villainy in a greater destiny," Dry Voice noted with barely concealed condescension.

A murmur of agreement ran throughout the room.

"Anyway, as the current situation presents itself, there are a few more potential candidates that seem to support our ideals." The leader turned to the man sitting immediately to his right, the man who had snickered or laughed at the previous comments of the other speakers. "Speak with them. If it's not as I expected, then you know how to take care of it."

The man nodded. "Of course. All in a day's work."

"As for the rest of you, keep your wits about you," the leader warned, rising to his feet. "The day is not yet here, but it is quickly approaching when the Rising will fall. There will be no neutral ground when it comes." And with that, he turned away from them, and disappeared into the murky light of the hallway, vanishing as quickly as a ghost and effectively closing the meeting.

One by one, the others begin to rise and leave as well, and the latecomer only watched as each man stood and departed from the room, his eyes keenly picking up on various details in their movements. The other novice of the group waved nonchalantly at him before he too was gone, leaving the other young man in the room, with only the faint hum of the computers as an accompaniment to the shadows.

Carefully, almost lazily, the young man sat back in his chair and let out a breath he hadn't even known he had been holding.

"So…it seems like I'm in it for the long haul."

His remark was met by the completely unrelenting silence and darkness of the hidden room.

oOo

"_Cingi aversabilis chaos_…"

Naminé bent her head low, murmuring the spell into her clasped hands, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"_Aspectus invisus_…"

She had been repeating the spell for some time now - the time keeping of the mortals was lost on her, but it could have been hours or days or weeks or years. Time was irrelevant in this place with no name of eternal light, but somehow Naminé understood the urgency of being able to understand the vision that had nearly knocked her senseless before.

Even thinking of it now, the young spirit felt the terror that had been ignited in her when she recalled the skeletal buildings engulfed in red flames and black smoke, the corpses that littered the streets, their mouths open in silent, eternal screams…and the two pairs of far too similar eyes, both pairs dead, one literally, the other emotionally…

Choking back a whimper, Naminé continued her incantation, her lips almost stumbling over the words as she spoke them.

"Naminé …you must stop."

The blonde spirit halted, her hands falling uselessly to her lap, and she turned to glance at the hand that was placed gently yet firmly on her shoulder. She peered up into iridescent emerald eyes that were framed by soft wisps of auburn hair, and saw the worrying smile that graced the other spirit's beautiful face. "I'm sorry. But…"

"Edea told me," the brunette whispered, kneeling next to the much younger spirit. "About your vision, that is."

"I don't understand it, Aerith," Naminé whispered, closing her eyes and attempting once again to dispel the nightmarish images while still keeping faint impressions in order to recognize the meaning of the vision. "I've never seen anything in that much details before. It was just an impressions before, but I saw…" Her voice trailed off, and when she spoke again, she sounded very lost and scared, "…a holocaust."

Aerith squeezed her arm gently. "Naminé , sometimes it is not for us to understand. After all, we are meant to guide, not to directly interfere with mortal affairs."

"So, you think that something like that is supposed to happen?" Naminé questioned, looking slightly surprised. "But I've never known anyone's name before in a vision - but this…who are these people? They're just children!"

Aerith smiled a bit at this - despite her childlike appearance, the spirit, the Third Sister, was much older than those she had seen in her dream. Not that time applied to their realm of existence, but the girl really had no age. Still, she had received her Gifts much later than either Edea, their Elder, or Aerith herself, which made appear young, and for Aerith to treat her with as much sisterly compassion as possible. "There are some things which we are meant to do, and other things which we are not."

Naminé stared down at her hands and bit her bottom lip. "It's unfair, Aerith. We can't just accept something like this."

"No - that is why we will guide them to step away from that path."

And then, Naminé turned to look directly at her, her sky-blue eyes suddenly dark with sadness. "And what if it's not enough?"

There was the question. Edea and Aerith had discussed it long before Naminé had become their Third Sister, back before the first Elder that Aerith had known had finally vanished to the Promised Land. It was not their duty to directly assist the lives of the mortals - no, such action would result in the assured destruction and damnation of those they were trying to help. They did not hold the hands of humans, they simply gently guided them from behind, unseen words of both encouragement and warning.

When Naminé came, with her wide-eyed wonderment and quiet disposition, she had constantly asked that question, never satisfied with the answers her two elder Sisters gave her. Aerith was worried that one day, the blonde girl would take actions into her own hands, regardless of the consequences to herself and those she was trying to help…

"It has always been enough before," Aerith assured the girl after a moment.

"But…"

"Don't stress yourself, little Sister. As long as we do our duty, then we - and they - have nothing to worry about." And with a warm smile of encouragement, Aerith rose to her feet and disappeared into the milky-white realm, leaving Naminé by herself.

The girl looked down at her hands - her small, delicate hands that desired to do so much more than gently aim invisible suggestions towards the mortals of the world.

_I want to help_.

Naminé bit her bottom lip.

_This time…this time, it won't be enough…_

oOo

A note, shaped like an origami frog, leaped across the aisle and landed right in the middle of the textbook that Kairi was trying to follow along in. Her eyes quickly darted over to Sora, who feigned innocence and pretended to be engrossed in reading about the oft-forgotten battles of the Thirty-Two-Day War. Kairi rolled her eyes, and looking up quickly to make sure their history teacher was not looking, quickly opened the note.

**Hey, Rinoa said Riku already got called to Ansem's office today! Major suck - it's during lunch! :(**

Kairi blinked and then hurriedly scribbled a reply.

**What happened?**

She sent the origami frog - which now looked more like an origami hamster - flying across the aisle, knocking it into Sora's hands.

A few moments later, the note - now simply a balled-up piece of paper - landed next to her book.

**IDK. Rinoa said Ansem came into their class and just called Riku out. She told me between classes! It's weird!**

Kairi bit back a laugh and sat back in her desk as the class continued, although her mind was no anything except the lesson. Allowing her mind to wander (although still keeping an ear open lest the teacher call on her to answer a question, a technique she had picked up long ago in childhood when her parents were having one of the infamous vendettas), she turned to gaze out the window, out onto the far brick wall that separated the Gardens from the upscale suburbia just up the hill.

She had known Sora and Riku forever, ever since they had been introduced by their parents in preparatory school so many years ago. Her father hadn't even been a major government official then - Cid Fabool was more or less an upstanding citizen that held minor seats on various neighborhood councils throughout the city. Kairi, his quiet and very shy daughter, had only ventured out with him a few times, and during one of those meetings, her precious doll had been stolen from her by a very rambunctious blond tot.

Confused, she had burst into tears, her father unsure of the source of her distress, until two boys approached her, scarcely older than her, holding a doll between her and presenting it to her. Kairi still remembered the embarrassed looks the two boys had at having to hold the doll, but realized from their slightly skewered clothing and messy hair that they had obviously gone through a bit of trouble to get it back for her…

…they had been inseparable ever since.

Kairi loved them both, more than brothers but less than something else, so she couldn't help but be a little bit more than curious as to what Riku had done to already have earned himself a trip to the headmaster's office. All of her possible explanations resounded in nothing, and she tapped her pencil against her cheek thoughtfully. Most of the time, Riku usually only got in trouble when his surrogate brother and sister were involved. Other times were mostly due to the fact that Riku sometimes could be such an arrogant bastard that would talk back to anyone if provoked.

Kairi smiled a bit at that, remembering the days following the Accident when Riku had been facing being put into an unknown foster family, and how he had firmly and none-too-politely told the judge that under no circumstances was he living with strangers, and if he disagreed, where he could shove his opinion (it hadn't been a very nice place, and the judge had looked both infuriated and amused by the young man's gall).

Julia Heartilly stepping in had remedied that situation quickly.

A few minutes later, when the bell had rung and the students had clamored for the door, did Kairi grab Sora's arm and drag him to the side of the hallway before he could go running off to lunch (commonly known as Sora's favorite subject). "You've got to tell me more than that, Sora."

Sora shrugged. "I'm just telling you what Rinoa told me."

Kairi huffed. "But she doesn't have lunch this hour. Who else was in the class with them?"

"Um…Wakka and Yuffie, I think. And Aladdin." Sora couldn't help but laugh at the look of amazement that passed over Kairi's face at this bit of information.

"Wait…_Jasmine's_ Aladdin?"

"The one and only."

"He transferred here? But how? He went to a public school and everyone knows he's…" Kairi trailed off and then scrunched her nose up in confusion. "Well…it's not like he has anyone to pay for his tuition."

Sora snorted and began heading down the hallway, Kairi letting out a cry of protest before catching up with him. "You'll have to ask Jasmine. All I know is from whatever Rinoa told me in passing this morning." Kairi rolled her eyes at the prospect of talking with Jasmine - though the other girl wasn't mean-hearted, she certainly was fiercely independent and intimidating when annoyed, and Kairi had the feeling that more than one person had been asking about her boyfriend's sudden enrollment in the school.

Quickly making mental note to ask Jasmine about the dark-haired rascal later, she poked Sora in the arm. "Hey, are you deliberately avoiding my question about Riku?"

"Yes."

"Hey!"

Sora laughed before taking off in a sprint. Kairi briefly recalled Ansem's warning earlier in the day about silly antics on the first day of school, but quickly brushed them off with a laugh in favor of engaging in the impromptu game of tag.

The game ended shortly after Sora nearly collided with one of the professors who had no qualms in chiding him over his behavior. Sora quickly agreed, and with a giggling Kairi in tow, slowed his run to a jog, and hurried out towards the cafeteria.

The cafeteria, which some of the teachers still stubbornly called the dining hall, had obviously been used for much grander occasions when the school was still just someone's home. Located in the deeper recesses of the Gardens, the grand dining hall boasted high, dark wooden ceilings with intricate molding on the panels running from the north of the room to the east. The crystal chandeliers that had once been in the room had been moved to one of the newer wings that served as an auditorium and had been replaced by simple, bulbous-looking light fixtures that looked like Blitzballs.

The room wasn't very large, which was why lunch was split into three hours. Last year, almost all of the usual clique had been in the first hour, but this year, with the inclusion of twenty more freshmen than usual, the group had gotten split up across the board.

Which was why only Tidus, Yuffie, and Olette were sitting at their usual table, right in the middle of the cafeteria. Tidus noticed the duo's approach first, and nodded his head in greeting. "Hey, guys. What's up?"

Kairi wasted no time in rushing over to the table, seating herself next to a bemused but smiling Yuffie, and leaning forward with a Look on her face. "Spill. What happened?"

Yuffie grinned and pretended innocence. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Kairi continued giving her that Look until Yuffie finally snorted into her apple juice. "Fine. Riku got pulled out of class by Ansem. He didn't give a reason, although…" Yuffie tapped her chin thoughtfully and dramatically… "Although, Riku didn't seem all that surprised by it…maybe a little annoyed, but he didn't get mad."

"And you know how Riku gets when he's wrongly accused for something," Olette said with a laugh before biting into her pasta salad.

"As pissy as any girl," Tidus muttered, earning him glares from the three females at the table. He blinked. "Oh, man. That's not even fair - I'm outnumbered! Sora, some help here?"

"Hey, no way. I know not to push members of fairer sex."

"Traitor…"

oOo

Ansem watched as the young man in front of him haphazardly concentrated on the globe and the orrery that sat on the tables flanking his desk. The globe was spinning at a extremely fast face, so that the globe itself was nothing except a blue of blue, green, and brown; the orrery's planets, on the other hand, were moving in the decidedly wrong direction at various intervals, almost as if in beat to an unheard, offbeat song.

The headmaster frowned as the globe suddenly slowed in its frantic whirling and then stopped so suddenly that it rattled on its axis. Golden eyes narrowed slightly as Riku sat back in his chair, eyes fixed on the orrery that continued its irregular clicks. "You lost your concentration."

"No, I didn't," replied Riku, his eyes traveling from the astral mechanical device to meet the gaze of his teacher. "I just don't see the point."

"Have you been practicing over the summer?"

"Only whenever Sora asks. You know how he is."

Ansem chuckled. "Indeed. The boy and the girl are certainly loyal friends despite knowledge of your ancestry. However, do not let him dictate your destiny."

The planets on the orrery immediately stopped clicking, and Ansem noticed Riku's hand clinch into a fist at the unintentional slur. "I don't allow anyone to 'dictate my destiny.' Not even you, professor." He turned to look out the open window where he could hear some of the students who had gone outside for their lunch talking loudly in conversation, along with the faint hum of traffic and the whisper of leaves swaying in the breeze. "Why did you take me out of class anyway? Couldn't wait to see if your protégé gained any new powers over the summer?"

"Your case is very precarious, Riku."

Riku snorted. "You tell me that all the time." He waved his hand slightly and the window slammed shut. "Makes me feel like a medical experiment."

"I am just trying to help you find your way," Ansem said calmly, picking up a folder that was lying on his desk. Riku saw this out of the corner of his eye and tried to not frown - Ansem did not have any nervous habits, so obviously his attention had been diverted for the time being. "And it seems as if you did not learn anything new over the summer at all."

Riku hated the disappointment in the tone of Ansem's voice. "Sorry I don't have anything to amuse you with." He rose to his feet, grabbing his messenger bag as he did so, and spun on his heel. Opening the door, he was vaguely surprised to see another young man an inch or so shorter than him standing outside of the door, his hand raised in the position to knock. "Sorry."

The other youth, who also was senior, nodded an acceptance of the apology, removing his wire-framed glasses as he did so and sliding past Riku into the room. "Good to see you, Riku."

"I bet," replied the taller young man before he walked from the room. He was a good five yards away before the door slammed shut behind him. The newcomer didn't even pay any attention to the fact that the door had slammed without anyone even touching, and walked forward into the room, taking the seat that Riku had been sitting in only moments before. Reaching out, he placed the folder he was carrying on Ansem's desk.

Ansem raised an eyebrow, but made no move to retrieve the folder. "I see things are still distant between you and Riku."

The other young man raised an slate-gray eyebrow. "So it would seem. How is it going with him?"

"Slow. But that's to be expected. He's not as disciplined as you are." And with that he reached for the folder and opened it.

He didn't catch the young man's half-smile.

oOo

to be continued

oOo

**Author's Note** (17 Apr 08): I'm terrible with updates, obviously.

This story…is difficult to write. Not because I'm lacking ideas for it - hell, no. It's just…heck, this is a story that involves one headache of a plot because there's time travel involve. And a crapload of characters. And all the other things that makes a superhero story wonderful and amazing and interesting.

So, no. I'm not giving up on this story. Its just taken me awhile to get back into the swing of things. I will see this story to its end, even if it takes awhile (after all, next to **Please Excuse My French**, this is one of those "epic" fics).

- Nashie


End file.
